Moose did an interview with Sports Illustrated to talk about a wide range of topics. Here are the highlights:
Wanting to wrestle at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom in the Tokyo Dome:
“Wrestle Kingdom, I would love to be part of that,” says Ojinnaka, who worked with New Japan icons like Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi during Ring of Honor/NJPW crossovers five years ago. “I’m a huge fan of their whole product, and I’m proud of my New Japan Strong matches with [Tomohiro] Ishii and Juice. And I would love to work Okada or Naito or Tanahashi again, but there’s a great first-time matchup in Will Ospreay, too. They have a stacked roster.”
Transforming his body:
“I needed to change my look,” Ojinnaka says. “I was talking to EC3, who is a real good friend of mine, and he told me I needed to trim up if I wanted to be a top guy. That really hit me, and he was right. So I changed my diet, and I used the pandemic to focus on diet and cardio and my workout regimen.”
Learning from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick:
“I watched Coach Belichick every day as he, this extremely successful guy, put in the work,” Ojinnaka recalls. “It didn’t matter how successful you were, he’d put in the work like he had something to prove. That’s what he expected from everyone. You’d bust your ass every day. That’s what I am doing: I’m putting 110% into everything I’m doing every day, and that’s a lesson Coach Belichick instilled in me.”